Erasing device



May 3, 193-8.

ERAS ING DEV'ICE Filed Aug. 17, 1937 IN V EN TOR.

c. FREDERICK) 2,115,806

B Y Q7 A TTORNEYS.

Patented May 3, 1938 UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE.

8 Claims.

My invention relates to erasing devices.

Objects of the invention are to provide an implement comprising anerasing element of rubber or the like normally enclosed within a casingof 5 metal or its equivalent and projectable therefrom into operativeposition. An important object of the invention is to provide means forclosing or sealing the erasing element within the container when theerasing element is in its withdrawn or retracted position. In this waythe rubber is kept clean and the device may be conveniently carried inthe pocket, in a purse, a desk drawer or the like. I A further object isto incorporate in the casing 15 means capable of ready and easymanipulation to project an operative end of the erasing element from anend of the casing and to hold or grip the extended end of the erasingelement 1 exposed, operative position. 20 An additional object is toprovide a structure of the class described, which may be veryinexpensively made of strong, durable material and which will functionefiiciently throughout a long period of life, during which worn outerasing ele- 2' ments may be replaced by new ones.

Attempts have been made heretofore to encase rubber erasers in casingsof metal or the like from which the erasing element may be projected foruse and into which the element may 30 be withdrawn between periods ofuse. In all of these prior art devices, so far as I am aware, there areinherent disadvantages. Notable among them is the failure of thesedevices to include closure means for the casing to protect the re- 35tracted rubber element from contamination by dust and dirt. Again, thebest of the prior art devices with which I am acquainted is inconvenientto use because it is necessary for the fingers of the user to exert acompressive grip on 40 the casing or the rubber element or both when therubber is extended for erasing use. My present invention proposes aneraser casing having a closure for sealing the rubber or the like withinthe casing when the device is not in 45 erasing use, and the inventionalso contemplates automatically gripping or holding the rubber inprojected position by a simple preliminary movement of the parts, sothat none of the users attention or strength need be devoted to holding50 or gripping the rubber in extended position when an erasing operationis being performed.

The structure contemplated by the invention includes several novelconstructional and manufacturing features which combine to produce an 55inexpensive and highly efficient article. These holding or backing means6. for structuralstrength, be provided in theform 55 advantages will beevident to persons skilled in the art from the following description ofthe principles of the invention as incorporated, in a preferred form ofembodiment.

In the drawing, which illustrates such preferred embodiment, which hasbeen found to be entirely operative and practical, and is therefore atpresent preferred by me, although I recognize that the invention may beotherwise and differently embodied,

Figure 1 is a plan view of one face of the device with one of aplurality of erasing elements shown projected into operative position;

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the opposite face of the device with theparts in the position shown in Fig. 1;'

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the device in the position shown byFigs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on thelinelL- i of Fig. 2;and

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 2.

' Referring to the drawing, the device includes a casing I, convenientlymade of metal and preferably comprising a pair of interfitted channelportions 2 and 3. The proportions of the channels are such that therelatively narrow side flanges of the portion 2 are engaged within thesomewhat wider side flanges of the portion 3,

and the engaged pairs of flanges are secured together, preferably byelectric welding, although other fastening means, as for example,rivets, pins or the like, may be employed.

The casing I is open at one end, if a single erasing element is to bebuilt into it, or it may be and preferably is open at both ends, thuspermitting the use of two erasing elements. The latter construction ispreferred because, among other reasons, it permits the use of twodifferent kinds of erasing elements, as for example rubbers of differentcharacteristics, one capable of erasing pencil marks and the othercapable of erasing ink marks, or an erasing element may be containedwithin one end portion of the casing and a brush or the like may becontained within the other end portion. I v 7 One face of the casing isslotted centrally as shown at 4. The slot preferably lies relativelynear the open end of the casing. If both ends of the casing are leftopen, as has been explained above, a companion slot 5 is formed inthecasing near its other end.

Slidably mounted within the casing is an. eraser This element may,

of a very shallow channel, preferably wide enough to make a snug fitwith the casing interior. The rear or inner end of the slide 6terminates in an outwardly directed neck I, extending relatively snuglythrough the slot 4 and terminating in a widened handle or manipulatingelement 8 which is wider than the slot and lies in a plane parallel tothat of the body of the slide 6. The arrangement is such that the tab orhandle 8 is movable along and substantially in contact with the casingexterior adjacent to it. When the tab is moved toward the end of thecasing, the end of the slide is projected through the opening at the endof the casing, and when the tab is moved oppositely the slide becomeswholly contained within the casing.

The slide is adapted loosely to receive an eraser element 9 of rubber,rubber composition or other suitable material. The element 9 is madeslightly smaller in cross sectional shape than the casing space whichreceives it, so as to prevent binding of the rubber between the casingand slide parts. A tang or equivalent means II] is struck up from thefloor of the slide near its outer end portion. The function of this tangor prong is to enter the rubber and move the eraser element out with theslide when the slide is projected. Obviously other means may be employedfor this purpose, as for example a turned up rear end wall for theslide, provided in the region of the neck 'I.

The outer end of the slide or backing 6 is flanged upwardly as shown atI I. Preferably this flange forms an angle of the order of 45 with theslide floor, and it terminates at its upper end at approximately thelevel of the upper casing wall, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, so that whenthe erasing element 9 lies flat on the floor of the slide, as shown indotted lines at the right of Fig. 3, the slide may be retracted withinthe casing, carrying the erasing element with it, and the flanged end II will form a closure for the otherwise open end of the casing. In thisway the retracted rubber is protected from contamination by dirt and thelike when the eraser is not in use.

The angular disposition of the flange II permits the rubber 9 to berelatively withdrawn to a slight extent from the slide 6, when the slideis projected, and then the slide may be withdrawn partially into thecasing, while the end of the rubber remains relatively projected, so asto grip and compress the end portion of the rubber between the end ofthe casing and the flange. This disposition of the parts is shown at theleft in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4. The movements preparatory to thisdisposition are illustrated in dotted lines at the right in Figs. 3 and4. Referring to these figures, the retracted position of the parts isshown in full lines in Fig. 4. From this position the slide and erasingelement are projected together, as shown at the right of Fig. 3. Theerasing element is then projected slightly beyond the outer end of theslide, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4. The slide is then retractedinto the casing as far as possible, whereupon the extended end of theerasing element becomes jammed or gripped in the casing opening, asshown at the left in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, and the erasing operation maybe conducted with great facility and convenience.

The eraser is restored and the device closed by the reverse of theforegoing movements. The slide is first projected to release the grip onthe rubber, the rubber is then pushed inwardly into the casing while theslide remains projected, and the slide and rubber are then movedinwardly together into the casing. In this latter movement prongs or thelike I2, struck up from the inclined flange II, may be used to engagethe end of the rubber and push the rubber along with the slide.

The operations thus described are the same for both ends of the deviceif an eraser and slide be provided at each end.

With reference to the angular flange II, it is pointed out that apreferred embodiment comprises formingslide side walls I3 on the flange.These side walls help to guide and fix the line of the projected eraserelement 9. They also strengthen the flange. If desired, they may beproportioned so as to intersect the plane of the upper face of thecasing, in which event short slots I4 may be provided in this face ofthe casing to receive the end walls I 3.

As has been stated, it is recognized that the invention may be emodiedin other and further modified forms. All such modifications, to theextent that they incorporate the principles of the invention as definedby the appended claims, are to be deemed within the scope and purviewthereof.

I claim:

1. An erasing device comprising a casing open at an end and having aslot formed in one of its sides, an eraser holder slidable in the casinghaving a handle portion extended. through the slot, and a flange formedon the outer end of the holder adapted to close the end opening of thecasing when the slide is retracted within the casing.

2. An erasing device comprising a casing open at an end and having aslot formed in one of its sides, an eraser holder slidable in the casinghaving a handle portion extended through the slot, and a flange formedon the outer end of the holder adapted to c-lose'the end opening of thecasing when the slide is retracted within the casing and adapted tocompress an extended end portion of an eraser against said end of thecasing when the eraser is extended from the holder and the holder isextended from the casing.

3. An erasing device comprising a casing open at an end, a backing foran eraser slidably mounted within the casing and having a flanged endnormally closing the casing opening and sealing the eraser in thecasing, and means for extending the eraser and its backing through thecasing opening and holding the end portion of the eraser extended inoperative position from the casing.

4. An erasing device comprising a casing open at an end, a backing forthe eraser slidably mounted within the casing and having a flanged endnormally closing the casing opening and sealing the eraser in thecasing, the eraser and backing being movable with respect to each other,and means for extending the backing through the casing opening with theeraser extended from the backing and compressed between the backingflange and the end of the casing.

5. An erasing device comprising a casing open at an end, a backing forthe eraser slidably mounted within the casing and having a flanged endnormally closing the casing opening and sealing the eraser in thecasing, and means for projecting the backing and the eraser as a unitthrough the end opening of the casing, the projected end portion of theeraser being detachable from the backing and adapted to be extendedbeyond the backing for compression between the casing and the flangedend of the backing.

6. An erasing device comprising a casing open at an end, a backing forthe eraser slidably mounted within the casing and having an operatingelement extending through a slot in the casing, a flanged end formed onthe backing normally closing the casing opening and sealing the eraserin the casing, and means carried by the backing and engaged with theeraser for moving the eraser with the backing when the backing isprojected through the end opening in the casing, said means beingdisengageable from the eraser whereby the eraser may be extended beyondthe projected backing and compressed in operative position between theadjacent ends of the backing and casing.

'7. An erasing device comprising a casing open at an end, a backing foran eraser slidably mounted within the casing, a flanged end formed onthe backing normally closing the casing opening and sealing the eraserin the casing, and means carried by the backing and engaged with theeraser for moving the eraser with the backing when the backing isprojected through the end opening in the casing, said means beingdisengageable from the eraser whereby the eraser may be extended beyondthe projected backing and compressed in operative position between theadjacent ends of the backing and easing.

8. An erasing device comprising a casing open at an end, a backing foran eraser. slidably mounted within the casing, a flanged end formed onthe backing normally closing the casing opening and sealing the eraserin the casing, means carried by the backing and engaged with the eraserfor moving the eraser with the backing when the backing is projectedthrough the end opening in the casing, said means being disengageablefrom the eraser whereby an end portion of the eraser may be extendedbeyond the projected backing and compressed in operative positionbetween the adjacent ends of the backing and casing, and a projectionformed on the backing engageable with said end portion of the eraser formoving the eraser with the backing when the backing is returned into thecasing.

- CHARLES FREDERICK.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,115,806.. may 19 CHARLES FREDERICK. I

It is hereb; certified that error appears in the prihted specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page,second column, lines 5h, 6). and 75, claims 1 5, and 6reepeotive1y, 'for"the" read in; and that the said Letters Patent should be readvwith thiscorrection therein that the same may conform to the record of the caseinthe Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 1mm day of June, A. D. 1958.

- Henry Van Arsda le, (Seal) Aoting commi'ssioner of Patents.

